Golden Chicken With Its Head Cut Off

This is the sort of cataclysmic event each one of us, even the most naïve of us, saw coming, it was after all inevitable, except when the decision did come down from on high we were left nearly incapacitated from the shock of the news as if it sideswiped us from out of nowhere. Yes, for the third time in less then a year Marquette University has changed its athletic nickname. But in spite of that lengthy period of time we are no closer to ending this debate then we were when this started. The Board of Trustees has decided … I mean, the “student body” has “chosen” Golden Chickens … ‘cuse me, I don’t know what is wrong with me today … Golden ‘Eagles’ as our ‘new’ athletic nickname, this in spite of the fact that it was the same name students and alumni have despised for the past decade and what sparked the Warrior debate to begin with.

Below is the e-mail message that was sent to Marquette University students from his excellence, Father Robert Wild:

I am pleased to announce that our athletics nickname effective July 1st will be the Golden Eagles. This decision was made by you, the Marquette community, through the “MU Voice” voting process. I want to thank all of you who participated in “MU Voice” for taking the time to vote for the nickname that we will use as we enter the Big East Conference on July 1st.

The name Golden Eagles has a proud association in Marquette’s history since it was our name from 1994 to the present. I am pleased that this tradition will continue in the Big East Conference, one of the most prestigious and competitive conferences in the nation. The Big East is also known for the academic quality of its student-athletes, and our Marquette student-athletes will be no exception. They excel both in the classroom and in athletic competition.

Ultimately, more than one-third of the Marquette community eligible to vote participated in either phase one or phase two of the voting process, with 35,777 total individuals casting votes. Thank you for your passion and enthusiasm for Marquette University. Your dedication is vital to ensuring our future progress and success.

Let me also thank Advantage Research, Inc., the independent firm that administered “MU Voice,” for creating and executing an honest, fair and scientific process. Finally, I would like to acknowledge the work of the Nickname Advisory Committee, comprised of representatives from the Marquette community, for ensuring the integrity and transparency of this process.

For additional information about our athletics nickname, including press releases and voting results, please visit http://www.marquette.edu/nickname.

Of course, we know that Marquette is first and foremost an academic institution committed to educating men and women to be a leaven for good in our society. We must not lose sight of this important mission rooted in our 450-year Jesuit tradition. Thank you for your care and concern and for the pride we share in the values of this wonderful university. We Are Marquette!

Low and behold (much to my surprise), the administration lived up to its word and released the information pertaining to the percentage of votes which were written in for the ‘Warriors’ nickname, in spite of the fact it was made clear that those votes would not be counted toward the final election. Ten percent – that’s the percentage of student and alumni votes that voted for ‘Warriors’! Imagine if students and alumni were actually allowed to vote for ‘Warriors’.

Professor John McAdams has put in his two cents as well on the subject over on his weblog.

Well, at least on the bright side, if one is even remotely possible in this grim scenario, we get to decide on the new mascot.

Below is a picture I found online (Google image search for ‘Golden Chicken’) that I would wish to enter as my submission, though even in my own opinion I don’t have much confidence behind it …